Abstracts - Earli

connections, especially in activities such as natural cycles and the context of their influence onpeople’s daily lives, should be included in science curricula.F 429 August 2007 17:00 - 18:20Room: 7.14Paper SessionLanguage educationChair:Marianne Nikolov, University of Pécs, HungaryHow can we improve students’ literacy? A one-year longitudinal study on the use of a nontraditionalapproach to developing a Secondary 1 curriculum in Chinese language in Hong KongShek Kam Tse, The Univsersity of Hong Kong, Hong KongFerence Marton, Göteborg University, SwedenKa Yee Elizebeth Loh, The University of Hong Kong, Hong KongPui Man Pakey Chik, The University of Hong Kong, Hong KongPromoting students’ literacy—the ability to read and write has been one of the key foci in currentcurriculum reforms in Hong Kong, as in elsewhere in the world. In this paper, we examine theeffectiveness of an innovative one-year curriculum on improving Secondary 1 students’ literacy inChinese language in Hong Kong. The design of such curriculum was guided by the Theory ofVariation and aimed to provide a more focused experience for students to develop their readingcomprehension and their capability to express themselves in writing. Unlike the predominantpractices which are text-based and focus on a great number of independent short passages orsimplified literature in the Chinese language curriculum, it is based on novels, including fictionsand non-fictions. Specifically, it focuses on helping students to differentiate the languageapplication and the uses of reading skills in a wider context of fiction versus non-fiction. Students’sharing of their own opinions and interpretations of particular episodes in the novels was alsoencouraged in the lessons and an on-line forum set up for their after-school discussions. Theresults indicated that in the three participating schools, students who underwent the newcurriculum did not only score significantly higher in the language abilities test administered afterthe curriculum implementation, than those who did not, but their gain score ‘. These findingstherefore support the conclusion that the reading of novels and contrasting various interpretationsamong the students in the Chinese language curriculum is an effective, if not the most effectiveway, in fostering students’ literacy.Investigating the double deficit hypothesis in learning to read Greek: findings from grade 1Timothy C Papadopoulos, University of Cyprus, CyprusMaria Constantinidou, Cyprus Ministry of Education and Culture, CyprusPanayiota Kendeou, Cyprus Pedagogical Institute, CyprusMaria Koushiou, University of Cyprus, CyprusThe aim of the present study was to detect whether there was a naming speed deficit as anindependent core feature of reading difficulties or as an associated feature of a phonological deficitin a Greek speaking sample. A population of 276 Grade 1 children participated in the study. The– 322 –